8 blades used for Interrogation and 6 blades used for execution.

If the story remotely sounds familiar then you may not be surprised to learn that 14 Blades is in fact a very loose remake of the excellent Shaw Brothers film The Secret Service of the Imperial Court AKA Police Pool of Blood.

14 Blades in fact sees Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung together again (although sadly never on screen at the same time..), Here Sammo Hung plays the exiled Prince Qing who together with chief eunuch Jia Jing Zhong sets out  to use the Jinyiwei to rebel against the emperor and seize power.

Jia fools Qinglong into hunting down the Imperial Councilor and taking the ’safebox’ which Jia explains contains a list of traitors to the emperor.
Qinglong though soon learns that the safebox in fact contains the Imperial Seal but very soon  he’s being tracked by his fellow Brocade and becomes a fugitive on the run.

It is whilst on the run that Qinglong soon meets up with the Justice Escorts and Qiao Hua (Wei Zhao).
Qinglong is injured and taken in by the Justice Escorts who have no idea who he really is.
Qinglong still dedicated to the emperor sets out on personal vendetta to return the Imperial Seal and avenge the death of his fellow guards.

14 Blades is an incredibly frustrating film.

There are many elements of this film which should have turned this into a classic and a early contender for movie of the year but sadly the film is badly let down by an extraordinary poor script and a pretty useless cameo from Sammo Hung who does not even throw a punch! (although he does play a character with no legs! - Dont ASK!)

Strangly this film was also nominated for best action choreography at the recent Hong Kong Film Awards yet the action here is badly edited with poor camera angles and the over use of slow mo effects.
The action scenes are in no way bad, but at the same time are not award worthy of a nomination (although you could argue we did have a pretty bad year for action films).
The main nucleus of the story is the developing relationship between Qinglong and Qiao Hua.

Whilst the romantic connection between the two is never truly believable, the trust between them and his protection of her is and generally this does work and helps carry the film somewhat.
Another problem though with the film is the sense of time and the actions and motifs of some of the Bracade for turning on Qinglong – none of which is truly believable in the slightest.

Whilst there is much to question there are still many bright moments during the film and even some of the set pieces and costumes themselves are well put together.

The actual Blades are fantastic and when in use is really a delight to watch.

Prince Qing’s daughter Tuo Tuo although badly cast makes use of some of the films better CGI moments, as well as Donnie Yens fight in the forest (O and yes we do get the now legendary slow mo Donnie Yen double kick)

14 Blades also suffers from a very poor middle act. This is generally the part of the film in which the story is explored in more detail but again due to the poor script there is very little for the audience to really care about and instead of following the story we are simply left waiting for the next action sequence.
Luckily the middle act is saved by the introduction of the ‘Heaven Eagles Gang‘, after which follows a nice fight sequence (again poor editing) between Qinglong and the Eagles leader The Judge of Sand, before later the Gang agree to join Qinglong on his quest.

I guess 14 Blades will satisfy Donnie Yen fans who may have been disappointed with his lack of screen time in Bodyguards and Assassins. This film , unlike Bodyguards is really all about Donnie Yen.
If you come into this film to watch Donnie  kick some ass then I think you will leave pretty satisfied. Sadly though, those who have watched the original Shaw Brothers movie will be greatly disappointed. Police Pool of Blood is great source material and the fact that Daniel Lee neglected the story is really a huge disappointment.

Sound editing and of course Wei Zhao are some of the few highlights in an otherwise disappointing film which whilst not the worst Donnie Yen film does not come anywhere near the heights of some of his recent outputs.

The upcoming horror and gore movie entitled Mutant Girls Squad (Sento Shojo: Chi no Tetsu Kamen Densetsu) will be starring two gravure idols: Yumi Sugimoto and Suzuka Morita. Also included in the main cast is Jdrama actress, Yuko Takayama.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sugimoto plays Rin, a bullied teenager who discovers her arm has mutated into a razor-sharp weapon on her 16th birthday. A shadow government organization immediately begins hunting her down, slaughtering her parents in the process, but Rin is saved in the nick of time by a super-powered being called “Hiruko”. Soon, mutants from all over Japan are gathered together and begin militant training to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, Rin is fitted with a special iron mask and begins her life as a “battle girl”, utilizing both her mutant powers and acrobatic abilities to fight against mutant-hunting special forces.

The movie is under the helm of directors Noboru Iguchi (Machine Girl), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police), and Tak Sakaguchi (Sakigake! Otokojuku) and produced by Nikkatsu.

Source: JEFusion | Mutant Girls Squad with Yumi, Suu-chan

Click here to view the embedded video.

2008’s Thai horror 4BIA (SEE PRANG) thankfully makes for a satisfying movie experience. Separated into 4 short segments, each spot is directed and written by a different person, which surprisingly doesn’t affect the film’s cohesiveness or pace too much. Granted, some viewers may not pick up on the initial connection (the stories are seemingly connected but only make references to each  other in passing so pay attention) but since each story stands fairly well on its own, it doesn’t necessarily hinder the viewer.

The first segment, HAPPINESS (LONELINESS) is a solid supernatural thriller that’ll spook you out of your seat. A young woman named Pin (Maneerat Kham-uan)is healing from an injury and confined to her apartment starts to receive mysterious text messages that turn out to be coming from a sinister source. Directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun, the almost dialogue less short is effective in dishing out the creepy scares and displays some strong acting chops from the lead actress. It’s definitely a stand out and worth multiple viewings.

The second segment TIT FOR TAT by Paween Purikitpanya  (YAN SANG TAI) revolves around a bullied schoolboy extracting his black magic fueled revenge on his tormentors. Told in the viewpoint of one of the offending classmates Pink(Apinya Sakuljaroensuk), it’s easily the most clichéd offering in the anthology. The story suffers from predictability and what can only be described as an insulting misuse of CGI. The saving point is the amount of gore and violent imagery used (including one eye popping experience)but it only helps bump TIT FOR TAT up to tolerable but forgettable on the watching scale. Purikitpanya’s last film BODY #19 is way more indicative of his skill as a director, and I would endorse that film over this particular offering.

Director Banjong Pisanthanakun brings us the fourth segment, a buddy buddy horror-in-the-woods flick fused with comedy titled IN THE MIDDLE (KON KLANG). It’s more humorous than terrifying, with tongue in cheek references to popular horror films but the writer/director of SHUTTER and ALONE manages to spice up blandness slightly with a cleverly executed variation on a well known twist tactic.

The last film in the series is arguably the best bang for your buck. Parkpoom Wongpoom, who can also boast SHUTTER and ALONE on his writing/directing resume, offers up a seriously scary dose of body bag phobia with THE LAST FRIGHT (TEAW BIN 244). A flight attendant Pim (played outstandingly by Laila Boonyasak)  is summoned for a special flight in which the Princess of Khurkistan will be the only passenger. What starts as a simple flight leads to a chain of events that will make anyone instantly believe that old adage about women scorned.

Overall, 4BIA is an accurate and favorable  representation of the burgeoning Thai horror genre. Yes, there are the usual missteps that have more to do with lack of original plot devices than actual quality, but it makes up for that with bold ingenuity. I would recommend it to connoisseurs and novices alike.

Director: Lee Kwang Jae

Synopsis: Ji Hyeon (Lee Na Young) is enjoying a perfect life as a beautiful photographer following a sex-change operation, until a young boy (Kim Hee Soo) claiming that she had fathered him comes knocking at her door.

Trouble ensues as Ji Hyeon tries to act like a conventional dad while her boyfriend (Kim Ji Seok) grows increasingly suspicious…

Genre: Romance/ Comedy/ Family

Cast: Lee Na Young, Kim Ji Seok, Kim Hee Soo, Jeong Ae Yeon, Lee Pil Mo, Kim Hee Won, Kim Pung, Jo Seung Eun, Kim Eung Su, Domashchenko Vadym

Trailer

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Legend is back

Ip Man 2 has been pushed forward to April 29, 2010 because Donnie Yen is so sick of his character that he wants it over with quickly. This is also due to the fact that after the success of the first movie, lots of other Ip Man movies have been made (Just like what we saw with the Wong Fei Hung character).

Taken from part of a recent interview, Donnie speaks about the success of the movie and how he feels about it.

“After Ip Man 2, I would never ever touch any films related to Ip Man. This will be my final film on the subject. Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon, this is very frightening. Did you know how many Ip Man films are in production? Under such condition, we would not progress, it’d only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter.”

Apart from this, many people have spoke about the facts surrounding the film saying that it wasn’t shot in the original place where Ip Man lived, which was Foshan and this alone takes the magic away from the movie. Whereas the latest Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung film The Legend is Born: Ip Man, was shot in Foshan as it was meant to be(Sammo’s early masterpiece The Prodigal Son was also filmed there).

I’m happy that they have pushed the date forward as i loved the first movie, and feel the second is going to be much better with the likes of Sammo Hung playing the Hung Gar master, taking on Ip Man himself.

Please enjoy the video below, showing onset clips of Donnie Yen and towards the end showing the battle between himself and Sammo Hung.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sources: wu-jing.org

Mother is another masterpiece from the wonderful Korean director Joon-Ho Bong and is the story of an over protective mothers’ (Hye Ja Kim) undying love and devotion for her mentally handicapped son (Do-Joon).When her son is accused and arrested for the murder of a young school girl, Mother is the only one who believes he is  innocence, so sets out on a crusade to find the real killers and ultimately save her son from life in prison.

Win a copy of the Joon Ho Bong’s THE HOST

To celebrate the US Cinema release of Mother, AMP has teamed up with Magnolia Pictures to offer you the chance to win a copy of Bong’s previous cinematic triumph The Host.

We have 3 copies of the 2 disc collector’s edition of The Host available to the lucky winners.

To enter the competition simply complete the form below.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

NOTE:

1 entry per household.

Winners will be picked at random

Competition closes on March 15th 2010.

Winners will be announced on March 16th 2010.

What Does AMP think of Joon Hoo Bongs Mother?

“You cannot help but compare ‘Mother’ to Joon-ho Bongs earlier movie ‘Memories of Murder’ , the setting, pacing and even many of the story elements of the two films are too similar to ignore. Both films also come with a shocking conclusion.
Whilst similar in nature ‘Mother’ stands tall in its own right as a great example of well-paced film making.” – AsianMoviePulse – Mother Review

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The Secret Reunion in its third week in theaters still dominates, having the honor of also being the movie to finally dethrone Avatar as  number one in South Korea.

From director Jang Hoon after his excellent debut Rough Cut,  starring  Song Kang-ho (The Host) with Kang Dong-won (Voice of a Murder).

Parallel Life

The only new release this week  is Parallel Life, a new South Korean thriller directed by Kwon Ho-young (Forbidden Floor – 4 Horror Tales) and starring Ji Jin-hee (Soo), Lee Jong -hyuk (Crush and Blush), Ha Jeong-woo (Boat), and Yoon Se-ah (Blood Rain).

TOP 10

01. The Secret Reunion (South Korea)
02. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (USA)
03. Parallel Life (South Korea)
04. Harmony (South Korea)
05. Avatar (USA)
06. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (USA)
07. Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale (USA)
08. Confucius (China)
09. One Piece Film: Strong World (Japan)
10. The Wolfman (USA)

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Director: Chalart Sriwanda

Synopsis: A group of high school students follow the dream of having their own musical band and becoming artists. They spend their time after school to rehearse.

Genre: Drama/ Musical

Cast: Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Arisara Tongborisuth, Atiwit Earmyodsip, Naowarat Yuktanan, Paullawee Anantakul, Prakasit Bowsuwan

Trailer

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